In a few words, Razvan Albu is a singer, guitarist and songwriter from Bucharest, altough he's been known to move around quite a bit.
The musical story begins during a 6-year stint in the U.S. and Canada, when Razvan honed his innate talent to write, arrange and perform music. He first recorded on a 4-track - loose, relaxed arrangements built around drums, bass, electric guitar and vocals.
Starting with September 2006 and until July 2007, Razvan recorded 7 tracks at his home studio. The EP, entitled Jocuri Fara Nume (i.e. Games Without Names), was mixed at Bias Studios and mastered at Cue Recording in Virginia, USA. The release garnered significant attention, which translated into various radio and live appearances.
Razvan finalized his 2nd major solo album, entitled Straw Man, in May 2010. The album is a rough concept on media manipulation and control and introduces a harder, guitar-oriented rock sound. Most of the solos were performed by virtuoso David Berry. The album was mixed at Farview Recording and mastered at Massive Mastering in Chicago, USA. Straw Man was noted by several radio stations and media outlets. Invited live on the air at the national radio station, Razvan talked about his music to a large audience and performed some of his songs in an acoustic format.
Following live appearances at Fabrica club as lead singer of the band Stonebox, Razvan formed a new band, Scarlet Starlet, recording 2 singles and accompanying videos in 2014. Soon thereafter, Scarlet Starlet played one of the most iconic venues in Romania, Sala Palatului. Razvan has also been associated with the bands Twin Picks and Fried Friend; the latter closed the first evening of Padina Fest 2016 with Razvan performing lead vocal duties.
In 2016, a new solo album was published, entitled This Life. Several collaborations were cemented during the making of the album, with industry pros such as Jason Falloon (covering guitar duties for Queen’s Roger Taylor solo work) or Adrian Ciuplea (bassist for Vița de Vie and Platonic Band), among others. The album garnered attention and more radio appearances followed.
In 2021, Razvan put out a new EP, consisting of four songs and called Wine & Cigarettes. The record showcased a different sound compared to past releases, using a minimalistic, laid back and acoustic-oriented arrangement, evocative of the lonely atmosphere of the Covid-19 years.
As of mid-2024, Razvan is close to finalizing his most ambitious project to date, an album called Labour of Love, in the works for roughly 1.5 years. The new material is rumoured to be a blend of rock, country and blues. While a release date has not yet been set, the album will showcase Razvan alongside long-time collaborator Jason Falloon and a stellar rhythm section, consisting of Martin Hofpower on bass and Martin Hauser or drums.
And so the story continues...